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Can payments persuade Canadian residents to move away from dying villages?

bloomberg.com

31–40 of 195 posts

Re: Can payments persuade Canadian residents to move away from dying villages?

#31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's because Toronto is in a state of transition. No one complains about NY, London, HK real-estate because it's already understood to be expensive in the mainstream. But Toronto real-estate being expensive is relatively new such that you have people who grew up in Toronto not being able to afford it in adulthood. People are slowly realizing that TO is now just another global city out of reach to the middle class unl…

It's so cold there, who needs a backyard? You can only use it 2 weeks a year, and you'd be better off sailing.

It probably depends on the stage of your life. I had a house with backyard when I was single and didn't use it much.

Now, I have family and kids and totally enjoy having it even though I only get to use it 4-5 months out of the year: - kids spend a lot of time there on the trampoline - my wife has an organic garden and beautiful flowers - my dog chases rabbits and squirrels - enjoy being outside without having to go to a park (reading books, playing with my kids) - family gatherings, BBQs and etc

There's no way I'm going back to living in an apartment or even a townhouse with no backyard unless I really have to...

Re: Can payments persuade Canadian residents to move away from dying villages?

#32

What, no Newfie jokes? On a more serious note: there's a tectonic shift going on in the US too, it's just not as stark. Young'uns are moving to the cities enmasse, resulting in skyrocketing rents in places like SF, Seattle. The old American Dream of having a McMansion out in the 'burbs has largely died out. Now people prefer the urban areas.

It's funny, as a young'un I felt the draw to the city and have worked in some of the greatest cities in the world. Now I'm still not old, but I find myself drawn to places like this. I feel like they could turn their slump into a booming tourism trade. There's nothing like the ocean and the large majority of people only ever get to see it on vacation. I grew up next to the ocean and even in a city where we have easy…

I'm surprised somebody hasn't started a software company in a place like this. Maybe not the very out of the way island featured in the article but similar ones. Rent must be dirt cheap. I wonder how big a company (or collective of freelancers?) it would take to save a town like that.

Re: Can payments persuade Canadian residents to move away from dying villages?

#33
"but the title is clickbait"

Almost every Bloomberg title is clickbait [1]. Probably Bloomberg should be flagged for title correction.

Perhaps: "Canadian government offering relocation to homeowners from some declining villages"

Financial news readers may enjoy Reuters, which has far less irritatingly misleading titles.

[1] source: Bloomberg.com

Re: Can payments persuade Canadian residents to move away from dying villages?

#34
post #14
post #6

I actually live in Toronto and I agree real estate here is expensive. What I don't get is WAY more expensive in places like London, Hong Kong, New York and San Francisco but I don't hear as many complaints or alarms going off in those areas. Why? Is this just me being oblivious?

I hear a ton of complaints about SF. Maybe you hear more about Toronto because it's where you are?

Poster has a point. Toronto real-estate has been said to be on the verge of collapse since 2004. It keeps growing at insane rates .. we're talking around 10% per annum (don't recall the actual figure). Also, this is despite a ton of construction .. we're talking near-China level cranes here ... any open space near subway lines turns into condos. Lots of stories of people flipping pre-construction units, waiting in line for days to put a deposit down on new construction, etc. I think Toronto is closer to Hong Kong when it comes to the real-estate game. Oh .. and for your viewing pleasure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT3YdJm6y3Y

Re: Can payments persuade Canadian residents to move away from dying villages?

#35
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hear a ton of complaints about SF. Maybe you hear more about Toronto because it's where you are?

Poster has a point. Toronto real-estate has been said to be on the verge of collapse since 2004. It keeps growing at insane rates .. we're talking around 10% per annum (don't recall the actual figure). Also, this is despite a ton of construction .. we're talking near-China level cranes here ... any open space near subway lines turns into condos. Lots of stories of people flipping pre-construction units, waiting in li…

Great video! I don't doubt Toronto is crazy, just saying that these other ones get attention to. Well, SF does, anyway.

Re: Can payments persuade Canadian residents to move away from dying villages?

#36
post #6

I actually live in Toronto and I agree real estate here is expensive. What I don't get is WAY more expensive in places like London, Hong Kong, New York and San Francisco but I don't hear as many complaints or alarms going off in those areas. Why? Is this just me being oblivious?

I think it has to do with local incomes and land area. The GTA is massive when considering land area. Incomes don't compare to places like SF and NY. Although I might be wrong on the income front. A friend of mine remarked that lawyers and bankers in TO may be making 300K+. So maybe I'm wrong about local incomes being depressed.

This is a big part of it. It's not that the cities are expensive, it's that they're so unaffordable. This is especially so in Vancouver where the average income (~C43k)[1] is lower than Toronto, and yet prices are higher.

The large disparity between local incomes and housing prices is a major reason why there is so much attention on the implications of foreign capital on Vancouver's housing market. It seems like there hasn't been as much concern or interest in Toronto, but there probably should be.

[1] http://www.theglobeandmail.com/real-estate/for-vancouver-hou...

Re: Can payments persuade Canadian residents to move away from dying villages?

#37
post #6

I actually live in Toronto and I agree real estate here is expensive. What I don't get is WAY more expensive in places like London, Hong Kong, New York and San Francisco but I don't hear as many complaints or alarms going off in those areas. Why? Is this just me being oblivious?

What I don't get is WAY more expensive in places like London, Hong Kong, New York and San Francisco but I don't hear as many complaints or alarms going off in those areas. Why?

Those places have always been expensive to my memory, and I'm not a young man. But Toronto? Expensive? Get outta here! And if Toronto is anything like Vancouver, BC, you get the same expensive housing as (places with which I'm familiar:) Seattle and SV with 60% of the salary.

Also, regardless of the expense, NYC, SF and the like are where you go to get your "big break" or what have you. Sure, you'll pay $2000/month for a closet, but if that audition goes well you'll be on your way. Toronto? Fine city, last I was there. It's not, however, top of my list of cities when I imagine myself packing up to seek my fame and fortune.

Re: Can payments persuade Canadian residents to move away from dying villages?

#38
post #6

I actually live in Toronto and I agree real estate here is expensive. What I don't get is WAY more expensive in places like London, Hong Kong, New York and San Francisco but I don't hear as many complaints or alarms going off in those areas. Why? Is this just me being oblivious?

It's because Toronto is in a state of transition. No one complains about NY, London, HK real-estate because it's already understood to be expensive in the mainstream. But Toronto real-estate being expensive is relatively new such that you have people who grew up in Toronto not being able to afford it in adulthood. People are slowly realizing that TO is now just another global city out of reach to the middle class unl…

I certainly complain about London, all the time. It's always been expensive compared to the rest of the country, sure, but the current flat-out-insane bubble prices are a comparatively recent (and deliberately induced/maintained) phenomenon.

Re: Can payments persuade Canadian residents to move away from dying villages?

#39
post #16

What, no Newfie jokes? On a more serious note: there's a tectonic shift going on in the US too, it's just not as stark. Young'uns are moving to the cities enmasse, resulting in skyrocketing rents in places like SF, Seattle. The old American Dream of having a McMansion out in the 'burbs has largely died out. Now people prefer the urban areas.

> Now people prefer the urban areas. That's not new. What also isn't new is that when those same people get married and have kids, they'll be looking to move out of that urban environment. And all of that is completely unrelated to what the article is about.

I think it is releated. The economic factors that have shifted jobs away from the land and into the cities are the same ones that attract young people to the cities.

Re: Can payments persuade Canadian residents to move away from dying villages?

#40
post #6

I actually live in Toronto and I agree real estate here is expensive. What I don't get is WAY more expensive in places like London, Hong Kong, New York and San Francisco but I don't hear as many complaints or alarms going off in those areas. Why? Is this just me being oblivious?

It's because Toronto is in a state of transition. No one complains about NY, London, HK real-estate because it's already understood to be expensive in the mainstream. But Toronto real-estate being expensive is relatively new such that you have people who grew up in Toronto not being able to afford it in adulthood. People are slowly realizing that TO is now just another global city out of reach to the middle class unl…

I complain about London house prices all the time!
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